The Perils of Paulie - An Irregular Blog

[Paulie_D]

APAT Bolton: 29th January 2011.

"Drying Out And Chipping Up"

Night had brought sleep but having opened the window for some fresh air, it also turned me into a mouth-breather.

OK, I might snore louder than usual but the real problem is.it dries your tongue out proper. I woke up a couple of times in the night with it drier than a three day old piece of toast and just about as appetising to have in your mouth.

It took a couple of glasses of water each time to re-hydrate the old eye-brow licker which actually kind of helped in the morning.

Nevertheless, Saturday morning got off to a relatively late start as I'm not even close to being as young as I used to be.plus the aches and pains don't help and the tumble I'd taken the night before just added to the carnage I've wreaked on my carcase over the years.


Youth.it's wasted on the young.

There had been some discussion of Mario's super-breakfast and an APAT fieldtrip but by the time I made it down to the lobby (around 11am) it was pretty clear that this was going to be a non-starter..I was the only one there from last night.

So, I hung around the hotel lobby for a while as various poker forum teams congregated and shirts were distributed. My lot were either staying elsewhere or were travelling up Saturday morning. I'd arranged to meet them in the casino at 1pm.

A few of the previous night's revellers started to put in appearances but I declined the offers of alcoholic beverages which ensued and decided to head on over to the G Casino about midday.

No problem finding the casino which was somewhat closer than I'd thought (but not within my comfortable walking distance) and parking wasn't an issue.

I got registered by the casino staff, had the parking validated and wandered in. The place seemed pretty standard for a G Casino but the large poker room was welcome sight. We wouldn't be crammed in here, even with 20+ tables although they did have to set up a couple outside on the main floor. I'll give props here, they could have rammed all 20 into the single area but that little bit of extra space really made the difference.

As I'd not done the Mario's thing, I grabbed a quick bite and slammed back a couple of Red Bull while waiting for my teammates to arrive. They came in dribs and drabs but we were all assembled and kitted out by kick-off time.

"Did we have a strategy?"..sort of, but it was along the lines of "We can't win this on Day One" kind of thing.the issue was, obviously, survival to the points.

We wished each other good luck and I found my table.and Ironsides. Sigh.

For those of us who've played with/against Ironsides before...this was nothing new but for others it was a different matter. I was getting a non-stop torrent from Iron in one ear and another from the guy to my left complaining about it.

Its poker, Dude.get used to it.

I just sat back and watched and waited while Iron started running over the table. You never knew what he had although I'm not convinced that he knew half the time. He laid out some bad beats here and there and was severely chipped up before the dinner break.

We were on the second shift for the buffet and the word came back."The Beef Stroganoff is rank". Frankly, I'm not really bothered about the buffet so I didn't bother.

Back from the break and I'd hovered on about the average for some time without being able to get much going and Iron was still making things interesting for the rest.

On a later break, Iron had to return to the hotel due to some sort of spillage and things quieted for a while.

It was at this time that I started a monster run.I called off a raise from Carl (shogun) in EP with TT which turned out to be better than his AJ. I followed this up by calling another raise from Carl in a similar situation with 44 and turned a set. Carl got away from that one though..but I'm not sure he believed me when I told him what I had.

Things just got better from there and with QQ, KK and AA in short succession all of which I played fairly straight forward and got paid. They all held against lesser hands and I went from c.12K to roughly 100k in less than an hour.

Iron returned somewhat sobered but the rest of us had now gotten a pretty good feel for where he was at by now and when he tried a monster turn bluff he was called off by TT and was out. There was some suggestion that he just needed an excuse to go back to the bar..Nah!

By now, my team had lost 5 players but 3 of us were still in it and we had a decent shot at making the points. I don't know when the points bubble burst but our table broke at some point (perhaps somewhere between 11pm and midnight) and I was moved to a somewhat more chipped up table. There would be no running large bluffs here.not with a couple of stacks bigger than mine.

As it happened, although my hands cooled a little I still had some nice cards and took out a couple of short-stacks on the way to the end of the day.

The end came about 1am and I counted up and was sitting on 128k.so I'd picked up another 30k or so.schweetah! I got the chips bagged up and headed out into the main casino.

We still had three in, with both the others on c.7ok which was about the average I think. We were in with a shot.

By the time all the admin was done and I'd checked in with a few people it was heading on for 2am so I drove back to the hotel.

I banged in the earplugs and, once again, sleep came easy.

[Paulie_D]

[duke3016]

It was extremely funny - cruel - but funny

[technolog]

FFS! I wish I"d been there!

[Laxie]

LMAOOO!!!!  Excellent report imo.  On sooooo many levels!  

[AAroddersAA]

Great write up - congratulations on your victory.

[Paulie_D]

Great write up - congratulations on your victory.

Look...we made the news....LINK

[Paulie_D]

[Paulie_D]

[Paulie_D]

[duke3016]

loving your stories - really well written, oh and you are the official scribe on any trip we make - don"t thank me  

[Laxie]

loving your stories - really well written, oh and you are the official scribe on any trip we make - don"t thank me  

Hell, he can write up my trip reports even if he wasn"t there!  

[Paulie_D]

[Paulie_D]

[Paulie_D]

Extracted from a Trip Report/ Blog entry from November 2009.

Sidebar: My friend Jim Lynott, whom some of you might know had been considering a roadtrip between Los Angeles and Las Vegas for some time. The route would be a little circuitous to take in some of the lesser known gambling spots along the way. We were joined, once again, by my brother Pete,

Laughlin: 11th November 2009

"Cruising The Strip"

OK, Wednesday and it's time to take in the sights. I grab the breakfast buffet and while I'm eating I text Jim to arrange something. Turns out he's eating in Harrah's cafe around the corner and when I finish grazing, I wander over.

Haven't heard from Pete but I text him...no reply. I guess he's sleeping one off.

Harrahs Laughlin - Rear View

Jim and I wander down to the rear of Harrah's which is on the river. It seems there is a river taxi which plies up and down between the various casinos on the Nevada side. Only $4 for a single journey or $16 for an all-day pass. Think of it as the floating Deuce.

We board after getting our day-pass wristbands and ride all the way down to Don Laughlin's Riverside Casino. It's a new way of...ahem...cruising the Strip.

Alighting at the Riverside we make our way inside for a mooch around. We find the poker room...not bad, about the same size as Harrah's effort but a darn sight busier. It seems they have a very active promotional/marketing campaign including Red Aces cracked for $500 at certain times of the day, Daily freerolls with easy qualifying etc.

Jim and I make the appropriate mental notes before wandering back through the casino. As we do, we spot a sign offering the scooter trikes for rent. Jim and I are sorely tempted to start the Laughlin Grand Prix there and then but before we can succumb common sense reels us back in.

We continue on our way through the various casinos by using the river-walk which is rather well named as you can walk by the...erm...river.

We visit the Aquarius, Regency, the Edgewater and the Colorado Belle...the latter is styled as an old paddle steamer.

As we're approaching the entrance, Jim's focus starts to wander. He spotted the koi swimming in the pool in which the Belle purportedly floats. I can see a faraway look in his eye..he's not thinking about the video poker slots any more..he's wondering where he can find rod and reel.

I drag him away before the angler in him makes him do something that might get him 86'd and we make our way inside. My first port of call is, as you might expect..the poker room.

Hey! Hands up all those who said it would be the bar...I'm taking names you know!

OK...well it almost was the bar...seems they have a micro-brewery on site...I file that little tidbit away for future reference.

However, by now my feet are killing me and they've rounded up additional support in the shape of my knees. They're screaming like Babe at Hog-Butchering Time.

I've had enough and although I suspect Jim'd prefer to continue on, we make our way back to the river taxi landing and catch the boat back to Harrah's. I need a lie down. I'm middle aged, overweight and on vacation...I'll take an afternoon nap if I want one...so there.

I rest up for a while just pottering around in the room before lying down and wake up a couple of hours later feeling a little light headed. I force myself, perhaps stupidly, to get up, get cleaned up and I'm thinking of playing the 7pm tournament downstairs. Thank the stars, just as I'm putting the finishing touches to my ensemble, I get a text suggesting we eat.

What a bloody good idea. I make my way downstairs and meet Jim and we partake of the buffet. I'm still not feeling right although the food helps but afterwards, I just wander around the casino floor for an hour or so, dropping the odd dollar or fifty in a slot machine before calling it a night.

I know, I know, you're wondering if there is EVER going to be some poker in this story. Rest assured, I've already set Thursday aside for a full blown poker montage.

As it stands, I'm down $50 on poker (if my sums are right) and, I think, just about even on slot play. If I'm slightly down there I'm sure the comp points will more than make up for it.